In Remote Alaska Town, Locals Call Cabbies For Illicit Booze: Authorities

BETHEL, AK — Bethel, a remote Alaskan town about 400 miles west of Anchorage, has a population of only about 6,200 but a proportion of traditional taxis far greater than New York City. That's because, authorities said, locals would turn to cabdrivers as a source for illegal booze.

In Bethel, there's a traditional taxi — which excludes Uber and Lyft drivers — for every 107 residents. In New York City, there's a traditional taxi for every 625 people, though the city is also packed with liveries and limousines, as well as ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft. Taking those into account, there's one vehicle for hire for every 68 New Yorkers, similar to Bethel's proportion.

State police in Alaska learned of the rumors and launched a two-year investigation that recently led to charges that 18 drivers sold alcohol out of their cabs without a license. (For more information on Bethel's illicit booze operation and other Across Alaska stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

At play is a mix of strict liquor laws and cars being unable to reach the commercial hub for dozens of tiny villages on the tundra 400 miles west of Anchorage. Bethel voters lifted a decades-long ban on alcohol sales several years ago, but the town's first liquor store in more than four decades opened just last year and closes by 7 p.m.

Taxi drivers, mostly from South Korea and Eastern Europe, have flocked to Bethel, situated in a vast region dotted with thousands of ponds where cars have to be flown in or sent by barge on a river. They shuttle tourists and people from 56 largely Eskimo villages who come to shop, visit doctors or perform other errands.

In the Alaska town, it was known that people wanting alcohol could simply call one of several cab companies and ask for a "charter" ride, City Council member and longtime resident Mark Springer said.

But more people unlawfully sell alcohol than just the cabdrivers charged, according to Springer, who said others in the community have also seen it as a way to earn a livelihood or supplement their income.

"We use the term, 'subsistence bootlegging,'" he said.

There are plenty of reasons that illegal alcohol sales can still be a lucrative business in Bethel, Springer said, citing the lone liquor store that closes early and locals who don't want to wait to drink. Other likely customers are minors, out-of-towners or residents of surrounding villages, some of which ban alcohol.

Alaska State Troopers made about 50 undercover buys from people without an alcohol license. In most of the transactions, cabdrivers sold undercover officers cheap hard liquor for $50 to $60 a bottle, prosecutors said. Besides the 18 cabdrivers, several others accused of working with them and one individual with no connection to taxi companies were charged.

Most of the defendants were arraigned Wednesday on misdemeanor counts of selling alcohol without a license. They pleaded not guilty and have not been jailed. One local cab company also faces the same charges.

"The general concept is, we think it's important to have a license because alcohol causes a lot of problems in communities all over the state," Alaska Assistant Attorney General John Haley said.

Rural communities have long struggled with the effects of alcohol abuse. It has been particularly brutal for Alaska Natives, who have a high rate of suicide and premature death, with alcohol long considered a major factor. Many rural communities have passed laws banning or restricting the liquor sales.

Local attorney Myron Angstman represents four of the cabdrivers who have been charged. They are all from South Korea and the language barrier has been a challenge, he said.

Angstman had some help talking to his clients in an initial meeting but doesn't know enough about their cases to comment, he said. He expects to bring in a professional translator.

Photo credit: Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna- CAFF via Flickr/Creative Commons